Thread by @KlasfeldReports

Good morning from New York.

The second week of Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking trial will begin shortly. The first week ended with prosecutors hauling Jeffrey Epstein's massage table into court. Photos below.

ICYMI, Week 1 highlights @LawCrimeNews lawandcrime.com/live-trials/gh…

From Friday's testimony by Gregory Parkinson, ex-crime scene manager from the Palm Beach PD:

Q. Is this the green massage table that you remember seizing from 358 El Brillo Way on October 20, 2005?
A. True.

Pretrial proceedings are about to begin.

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan is on the bench.

The judge says the next anticipated witness is "Kate," who is one of the witnesses against Maxwell. The defense says that she was over the age of consent, and there are arguments as to the scope of her testimony.

Judge Nathan said she will tell the jury: "I instruct you that the witness is not a victim of the crimes charged in the indictment."

(So, though 'Kate' was one of four accusers, I am referring her to a witness here.)

Judge Nathan orders redacting the photographs on the wall of Epstein's massage room. She will also exclude photographs of vibrators of various sizes, which she says have "little if any relevance" and could "confuse" the jury.

The schoolgirl outfits may be able to come in if the witness connects them to the permissible time frame of the indictment.

(Explainer as to some of the admissibility questions: The search of Epstein's Palm Beach house was in 2005, after the time period of the indictment.

The allegations of the indictment end in 2004.

Maxwell's defense team has made admissibility arguments on that basis.)

As to the vibrators ruling, the juror was allowed to see similar pieces of evidence.

From Friday.

https://twitter.com/KlasfeldReports/status/1466886007450648577?s=20

The jury enters.

Judge Nathan informs them that the parties agreed to stipulate to the remaining testimony of Sgt. Dawson, the final witness from last week.

Prosecutors introduce a number of redacted exhibits into evidence.

AUSA: "The government calls 'Kate.'"

Judge Nathan instructs the jury that "Kate" is not a victim of the crimes charged in the indictment, and the government has been instructed not to testify about the details of any sexual contact with Epstein.

Direct examination begins:

Q: "Kate," do you recognize that?
A: Yes.

Asked what it is, she replies: "It's my driver's license."

Submitted under seal and shown to the jury.

"Kate": "I had been dating a man, and we had taken a trip to Paris."

She says she met Maxwell there. She says she was approximately 17 years old.

"We spoke about the evening and where we were headed to, out for the evening. We spoke about where I lived."

"Kate" says Maxwell invited her to tea at her house.

"She seemed very exciting. She seemed to be everything I wanted to be," she says.

"Kate" recalls photographs of a slightly older man with "peppered hair," "greying hair."

It was Jeffrey Epstein, she says.

Kate: "I had a really lovely time, and I felt special. And I felt..."

(Deep exhale)

"—that I found a new connection that could be very meaningful for me."

Kate: "I left there feeling exhilarated," like someone wanted to be her friend.

Kate quoting Maxwell and Epstein: "She said that he was a philanthropist and that he liked to help young people."

"Kate": "She said that I was exactly the kind of person that he would help."

She says she was 17 and that she was "lonely" and "hadn't found a group of friends yet."

Q: Did there come a time when you met Epstein?
A: Yes.

Kate on her memory of meeting Epstein: "He seemed to be in his 40s."

Kate on Maxwell's "She said 'This is the girl that I told you about'" and "that I was strangely strong for my size."

Asked what her size was, she responds she was about 95 lbs.

"She said, 'Why don't you give his feet a little squeeze to show him how strong you are?"

She says she did.

"Kate" says that Epstein's massage therapist canceled and Maxwell asked if she could fill in.

Q: Were you a massage therapist at the time?
A (faintly): No.

Maxwell's lawyer: "Objection. Sustained."

(Correcting herself)

"Objection. Leading."

Judge Nathan: I'll allow it.

Q: What was Epstein wearing under the robe?
A: He was naked.

She says that Maxwell gave her massage oil and then closed the door.

Q: During the massage, did Epstein initiate sexual contact with you?
A: Yes.

(Per court's ruling, she can't describe details.)

Kate recalls Maxwell asking her "How'd it go?" and "Did you have fun?"

Q: What was Epstein wearing?
A: He was naked.

Asked where Maxwell was, she replied she was in the doorway.

Then came another massage and sex act.

Q: What if anything did Maxwell say to you after the massage?

She says Maxwell told her "Did you have fun?" and "You're such a good girl."

Kate: "She sounded really pleased, and I was pleased that she was pleased."

Asked whether Maxwell brought up sexual topics, Kate says: She would talk a lot about the nature of, she would say, "boys'" and use a euphemism for a penis.

She says Maxwell asked if there was anyone who could give Epstein a blow job because it was a lot of work for her to do.

Kate: "You know what he likes. Cute, young, pretty—like you."

"Kate" on Maxwell: "She said that she was friends with Prince Andrew, friends with Donald Trump," friends with "lots of famous people."

"Kate" said Maxwell gave her a gift for her 18th birthday, after the sexual contact with Epstein:

"I received a small, black Prada handbag."

(Prosecutors have long described the gifts as part of Maxwell's "grooming" process.)

Connecting to one of the evidentiary issues described during pre-trial proceedings:

Q: What were you given to wear?
A: I was given a schoolgirl outfit.

"Kate" describes it as a short pleated skirt, white socks, white panties and a shirt. This happened in Palm Beach, she says.

Q: Why did you put on the schoolgirl outfit?

A: I didn't know how to say no to that. I didn't know anybody in Florida. I had never been to Palm Beach or Florida before. I wasn't sure if I said no if I would have to leave or what consequence there would be for not doing it.

Q: Did Epstein engage in a sex act with you?

A (softly): Yes.

(Details of sexual contact are not being elicited pursuant to court order.)

"Kate": "She asked me if I had fun and told me I was such a good girl and told me I was one of his favorites."

"Kate" is being asked about going to Epstein's island, saying he called it "Little St. Jeff."

She was in her early 20s at the time, she said.

"Kate" on her recollections of the island: "I remember seeing a blonde slim girl, who seemed far younger than me at the time, very young."

"Kate" says she was addicted to cocaine, alcohol and sleeping pills.

(This is being elicited on direct examination, and Maxwell's defense attorney said in opening she "used drugs during the period of time" and "that it fogged
her memory.")

Asked whether her memories have changed, as the defense asserts, "Kate" denies it.

"The memories that I have of significant events of my life have never changed," she says.

She adds she may initially have "missed" certain memories that she later recalls.

She says "I asked to testify under a pseudonym because I have a child" and she doesn't want the child to be associated with her testimony.

Connecting the two threads here:

https://twitter.com/KlasfeldReports/status/1467882782206615557?s=20